Black Sheep
by marauderX
Summary: Blasted so far off the tapestry that not even her brothers knew who she was, Cassiopeia Black was the original Black Sheep of the Black family. After running away with a muggleborn and only sending a few letters to her cousin Andromeda in the years to come, Cassie disappears, and it's up to Sirius to find what happened to the elusive Cassie Black.
**Prologue** :

 _"_ _Just a moment!" I cried as my mother's incessant knocking reverberated around my small room._

 _I quickly shoved everything I had laid out on my bed into the small rucksack I had placed an Undetectable Extension Charm on not three minutes ago. Shirts, trousers, skirts, undergarments, and jumpers were hastily shoved into the bag as I hurriedly tried to tidy up to small space I had. Almost as soon as I had done so, the door opened and my mum walked in._

 _"_ _Cassiopeia, I expect you to answer the door promptly," she said harshly, surveying me from the tip of her pointy nose. "What were you doing in here that wouldn't allow you to do so?"_

 _Her beady eyes narrowed at me and I felt like cringing, but I knew that wouldn't help my case. My mother could spot a liar from 20 feet away. But then again, I had become quite a liar._

 _"_ _Changing mum. I was just putting on the jumper you bought for me last Christmas." I pointed at the navy jumper I had on, smiling at her. "It's a little chilly up here."_

 _My mum shivered and I knew she was buying it. "It is a little cold up here, isn't it?" She asked, looking at me. Her eyes narrowed and I felt my stomach drop. "Didn't you have that jumper on during dinner?"_

 _I could almost feel the blood drain out of my face. "Um… yeah. But I got warm and took it off. You know how it is with me. Warm one moment, cold the next. I'm almost certifiably temperately challenged."_

 _She pursed her lips but didn't say anything for a moment. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my fingertips. Finally, she smiled at me._

 _"_ _I just came up to tell you that your Aunt Druella will be arriving tomorrow morning with your cousins. I expect you to be on your best behavior and you best put on your best clothes," she said, grabbing one of my hands. "She's coming to announce a potential match for you! A Greengrass if I heard correctly!"_

 _My mother beamed and I plastered on an enthusiastic smile. "Not_ Evan _Greengrass?"_

 _She squealed and squeezed my hand tight. "Oh, isn't it wonderful! You'll be married and off to have beautiful pure-blooded babies with a rich pure-blooded husband within a month!"_

 _"_ _A month?"_

 _"_ _Well, yes dear," she said, her eyes hardening. "No respectable pure-blood would dream of marrying someone with_ your _history. And no respectable pure-blood would dream of_ divorce. _So, you will get married as soon as you can before he finds out about your_ indiscretions _."_

 _She said the words divorce and indiscretions as I say the words broccoli and Brussels sprouts; all hushed and whispered as if her own mother would race into the room and box her ears. But I nodded all the same because that's what she would want me to do. She gave me a tight-lipped smile as if the mention of my 'indiscretions' – oh the horror! – somehow pained her._

 _Which I'm sure it did. And that simply delighted me. But all I did was nod solemnly as she turned and strode out of my room, slamming the door on her way out. I groaned and lay back on my bed, silently cursing my mum, my Aunt Druella, and gross Evan Greengrass. But as I heard a clattering on my window, I shot up and ran over, peering out from behind the black curtain._

 _A shock of brilliant blond hair stood out in the dark street and I smiled as Aaron's familiar face was illuminated when he took a step into the light radiating from one of the lamp posts. Holding up a finger to tell him I wouldn't be long, I turned and grabbed the duffle bag from under my bed._

 _Racing around the small room (as well as I could at least, without bruising my hip), I threw open my drawers and emptied them all, not caring what I put in the bag. Swiping my arm over my desk to round up my stuff and dump it in the bag, I kept a watchful ear out for my mother or – Merlin forbid – my father coming up the stairs to check on me._

 _As soon as I was done with my dressers and my desk, I grabbed the hangings on my wall and threw them in as well. Then I turned to my bookshelf. I loved my books. I couldn't just leave them. Dropping to my knees, I hastily pulled three or four books out at a time and shoved them in my bag. The clatter of them landing on each other made my heart beat as I anticipated my parents rushing in to ask what in the world I was doing._

 _But as I emptied the wooden bookcase and heard nothing, my nerves died down a bit. Looking around my room, I sighed. The bed was the only thing I had left untouched. The black and green sheets and covers glared at me from their position on the mattress as the rest of the room pulsed with bareness. My walls, normally splashed across with banners, photographs and posters, was the depressing black I had avidly tried to cover up._

 _My furniture was a dull brown, so dark it was almost black as the walls. The floor was the only bright thing in the room anymore, a honey-coloured wood that screamed against the overall darkness of its surroundings. Sighing, I reached into my practically non-existent closet and grabbed the only thing left other than the black hangers: my beautiful leather jacket._

 _Shrugging on the black jacket, I grabbed my – heavy – bag and quickly made my way to the window. Unlatching it and lifting it as silently as I could, I beamed down at Aaron. He smiled back and I grabbed my wand, levitating the duffle bag down into his arms. Almost as soon as he touched it, I let the charm go and Aaron almost toppled over._

 _"_ What do you have in this bag _?" he hissed, struggling to throw it over his shoulder._

 _I shrugged and turned around on the windowsill, grabbing a handful of vines as I inched down the side of the building._

 _"_ _You said to be prepared. I'm prepared," I said as I let go of the vines and dropped the last five feet to the ground._

 _Dusting off my clothes even though there was nothing on them, I looked up at Aaron. His blue eyes sparkled even in the dark light as they searched my face._

 _"_ _What're you looking at?" I asked self-consciously, subtly running my tongue across my teeth to check for food._

 _Aaron laughed and took three steps closer to me. "There's nothing in your teeth, you daft girl."_

 _Okay, I guess_ not _so subtly._

 _"_ _Well then, what the bloody hell are you looking at?"_

 _He reached out and caught one of my hands, casually stroking the back of it. "With any luck, my future wife."_

 _I felt my cheeks colour and smiled. "Only if you'll have me."_

 _"_ _I'll always have you."_

 _He drew the hand he was caressing up to his mouth and gently kissed it. I felt my knees go weak and my stomach turn again._

 _"_ _Well then, best be off," I said, my voice strangled. Aaron gave me a curious look. "If we don't get off this street," I explained, giving him a sharp look, "I'll have you too. Right here."_

 _He smirked and nodded, pulling out his wand and adjusting my giant duffle bag. Keeping a firm grasp on my hand, he leaned in for a soft kiss before pulling away and smiling._

 _"_ _Let's go."_

 _And with a crack, we disapparated, leaving number 12 Grimmauld Place behind us._


End file.
